A review by riversnowdrop
Mermaid Lungs by Jasmine S. Higgins

5.0

Mermaid Lungs is soft and sometimes whimsical in the way it describes heartbreak – both romantic loss and the collective emptiness felt during isolation over the past few years – providing a cushion for the pain, almost comforting, bearable. It conjures up feelings of familiarity, endearing the reader, making them feel less alone.

The collection feels youthful in its approach to life: full of curiosity and hope. New love is welcomed and celebrated, unguarded. Higgins paints vivid pictures within her poems, taking smallness and making it big, making it important.

Introspection is encouraged. She encapsulates early adulthood and the drive to find your place: her poetry asks the question, how can I belong in a way that is truthful? And also, how can I show up as my most authentic self and be at peace with that? Though not answered directly, these are eternally human musings, and Higgins explores them beautifully here. 

Throughout Mermaid Lungs, the natural world collides with the industrial one: complex emotions are illustrated in both the lush, freshness of an untainted meadow and the humming, lively streets of a major city. In either case, we are made to feel part of something; earthly, while reading.